Jan 18
… in the first few minutes of 2009 …
Vikram lead Satsang on New Year’s eve, magical, uplifting and wonderous… everyone singing and swaying and rocking to his beautiful voice and his brilliant guitaring…
A few minutes before midnight, Bawa and Dinesh with their hearts full of love and devotion performed the Guru Pooja. When the world was busy shouting and celebrating outside, we had decided to celebrate in silence… So the last few minutes of 2008 and the first few minutes of 2009 were filled with the lovely shlokas of the Guru Pooja… Honouring the Holy Tradition of Masters who have brought this exquisite Knowledge and Grace to enrich our lives. Guruji’s presence was palpable as almost everyone could smell whiffs of perfume, Jasmine, Sandalwood, rose… and there was a very gentle breeze playfully blowing around the Grand Hall of Vishalakshi mantap…
Then Vikram sang Amazing Grace and as the last notes of the song died down… Bawa smilingly took the mike and wished everyone a Happy New Year!! There were huge smiles on all faces, but everyone kept Silence, they were on the Winter break Adv course…
He said everyone asks for Guruji’s message for the New year, but we don’t have it yet… So here is my message instead!
And then he quoted a Shloka of the Guru Pooja:
“Nikhila nilimpa Parishad
Siddhim Vidhate nisham”
In a very memorable flight with Guruji from Bangalore to Mumbai, Guruji had explained the hidden meaning of that sholaka to Bawa, which he shared with us… The entire Host of the Heavens are there on the Guru’s door, ready to shower you with Siddhis and blessings and whatever you can possibly wish for! But, don’t get stuck there, don’t get caught up with some siddhis, come to me, come to me… Come to the Guru!
Don’t be like a person playing with a colourful sea shell or stone, some mere bauble on the beach when the entire Ocean with all its majesty and mystery and grandeur awaits….
Whatever we have got from our Sadhana is just like dust, worthless and meaningless and useless… someone’s health became better, somebody got a job, someone got married, another got superb grades and another became rich… and this is all worthless, its all junk… Only special effects!
The purpose of Sadhana is beyond our comprehension, the treasure that Sadhana is will never be revealed till you are stuck with the special effects… What you get here is so precious, and you dont know, you cannot even begin to know… Who Guruji is and what he has given to us…
People often ask me (Bawa) Whats the purpose of my life? Anyone who asks this question after doing the Art of Living course according to me is an idiot!
The purpose of this life is very simple! Learn the Art of Living, Practice it! Teach it to others!!! What else could it be?! 
Everyone was laughing…
For the year 2009 lets be utterly committed to our Sadhana and our Seva and Satsang… the answer to the problems that are facing the planet today are only in Indian Spirituality… Sudarshan Kriya, Meditation, Pranayama, Yoga, knowledge need to be given top priority!!
And then he paused… looked at everyone… there was a deep glorious silence and Bawa suddenly busrst into song… Jai Jai Radha Ramana Hari Bol… Jai Jai Radha Ramana Hari Bol…
(and he was perfectly on key and singing in Tune! … even Vikram looked a bit surprized )
What a lovely way to welcome 2009 … Do join us next year on Winter Break 2009-2010 at our Home: The Bangalore Ashram!
A Very Very Happy New Year 2009 to everyone!
Jai Gurudev!
love
dinesh (n bawa)
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Jan 15
Ze Hermit really wanted to go to Italy…
so Suparna wrote this out for me
The Mysterious Case of the Fainting Prima Donna
‘Twas a starlit night in Tuscany
Florence was a spectacular sight
The Opera del Marzipan opened its doors
For the season’s opening night
Signora Rosetta Garbocci
The Prima Donna of the show
Having warmed up in the green room
Was now ready to have a go
For all you opera fans out there
Surely she needs no introduction
The Soprano virtuoso was clearly
The star of the entire production
Once the audience had settled in
A hush filled the opera house
They all waited with baited breath
For the first notes to come out
The show proceeded beautifully
The climax was well on its way
The hero, a soldier, was about to tell
His girlfriend, he was gay
Signora Garbocci breathed in deep
She clenched her fists and her toes
She was about to let out her practiced scream
When suddenly she froze
Her knees weakened, she staggered on stage
The soldier rushed to her help
They carried her gently off the stage
And here the curtain fell
There were hushed murmurs and speculations
Was it a case of stage fright?
The papers carried the story next day
Of the disastrous opening night
Doctors were summoned, but strangely enough
Nothing was found to be wrong
Signora was pronounced, fit as a fiddle
Hale, hearty and strong
The following night she appeared on stage
And was performing beautifully
Yet once again at the time of the climax
She collapsed suddenly
When they asked her, what had happened
She whispered “Rrhoma, rrhoma”
No problemo, said the manager
We’ll move the show to Roma!
But sadly, Rome was no different
Here too the climax was aborted
The hero was somehow never able
‘To come out of the closet’
After several days of treatment
Matters turned even worse
The sight of food filled her with
Anger and disgust
She lost weight and became weak
Her maid was consumed with sorrow
Signora wouldn’t touch her favorites
Bruschetta and gelato
Late one night, when the city was asleep
Signora covered herself with a shawl
She set out in the dark night
To fathom the reason for her fall
She reached the back of the opera house
Facing the eastern Piazza
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in
And headed for the “Hilton Plaza”
She climbed a single flight of stairs
And reached room 108
She knocked on the door hesitantly
And waited with bated breath
Seconds later, the door was answered
And who should be it?
Don’t tell me you have no idea
Why it was Bawa, the cooking hermit!
“Signora Garbocci! What an honor!” He exclaimed
“I’m your biggest fan”
“So it is you who cooks in this hotel room
When I’m performing at Marzipan?”
“Yes, of course!” beamed the hermit
“You are such an inspiration
Every time I hear you sing
I’m tempted to light the cauldron
I followed you to Rome last month”
Signora was shocked
“Do you realise Signore, because of you
My career is now wrecked?”
“Pray tell, what did I do?” asked the hermit
Simply aghast
“Well,” replied Signora
“Know if you must
The fumes from your cauldron, (don’t know what you cook)
Are absolutely heady
Everytime I take a whiff
I feel weak in the knees, and giddy
More beautiful than Leo’s Lisa
Or a poem by Machiavelli
More soul touching than Mikey’s Pieta
Or a tiramisu with biscotti
The smell has haunted me for days
Is this how the legend will fall?”
(Let’s not ridicule her for the melodrama
She’s in the opera after all)
“Relax, Signora, take a deep breath in
I may be able to help you”
And with that the hermit lighted his cauldron
And prepared a feast for two
As she tasted the peshawari naan
With navratan korma and pickles
Tears of gratitude rolled down her cheeks
(Or it could have been the spices)
The hermit cooked his Italian favorites
Lasagna and rissotto
Signora gobbled as fast as she could
Stopping only to say “Magnifico!”
As for her return to the Opera
She was a little tensed for sure
A case of jittery nerves, Nothing
A little So-Hum couldn’t cure
The next day she announced to the world
Signora will return on stage
Fans lined up at the ticket counter
If only to see her faint
To a brimming auditorium she returned
And let loose her vocal chords
The climax went brilliantly
Amidst thundering applause
The hermit was given a front-row seat
As Signora’s special guest
He was asked not to bring his cauldron
As a personal request
As the crowds screamed “Encore, encore”
The hermit shouted a few
“Mama Mia, Prima Vera, Armani and Gucci”
(Which was all the Italian he knew)
Thus the mysterious case was solved
Of the Fainting Prima Donna
The hermit packed his spices and cauldron
And left for the mountains of Montana…
There are two more you can read that she had written earlier:
The Hermit and The Hermit goes to France
you can write to her at sue195chat@yahoo.com
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Jan 13
Funny Signs
I couldn’t resist putting these up… they all made me chuckle and one of them made me laugh out loud
Enjoy…
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Jan 11
Bhanu Didi
There are many things about Guruji on our blog and elsewhere on the net… but not enough (according to us) about our darling Bhanu Didi… Guruji’s lil sisiter!
Bhanu Didi
I remember one of my earliest memories about Bhanu Ma as our family calls her, is mixing hot rice and yummy rasam and home made ghee with her hands and serving me, dinesh, ajay and arvind (her 2 sons) in her lovely kitchen at her forever welcoming home in Jayanagar, Bangalore. She always had time for each person who visits her home (and there are many, many, many…!) taking utter care of every one, making each person feel like they are the most important one (i think she gets this trait from her Brother)
She has a voice that would put many angels to shame… pure and simple and loaded with Devotion… and when she sings in Satsang everyone is lost in the ethereal beauty of her singing… Your first satsang with her will be one you will always remember
I had once asked Guruji if i could learn Sahaj meditation and curiously He had said no… and lots of people around me learned it and i used to feel quite left out… in fact i had organised a few Sahaj courses in IIT and would be very curious about how it felt … After almost a year of this, i asked Guruji once more if i could learn Sahaj and He said yes,yes … go ask Bhanu, she will teach you…
When i went upto her and told her that i wanted to learn Sahaj and that she should teach me, she laughed and said but i am not a Sahaj teacher! … and then went to Guruji who promptly made her one
Me and rajesh (myla) were her first Sahaj students and we had the extreme honour of being initiated in Guruji’s bedroom in Shakti Kutir… what an experience it was! But i am not going to talk about that here, coz that’s one of her favourite stories when she teaches Sahaj, so you should go and attend a course with her to hear it She is an amazing teacher and will talk about the most profound things with perfect simplicity…
Once in the middle of a very profound Knowledge talk in Mahaveer Hall of Vishalakshi, she spied a couple with an adorable little baby taking a walk on the terrace outside… and she suddenly exclaims “oh so sweet! how cute!!” and calls the couple inside the class and goes in the middle of this very profound session to cuddle with the baby… leaving the entire audience bemused… she made cooing sounds to the baby and played with her and then turned back to the session and started up exactly where she had left off before the baby interlude with the same intensity and passion as was there earlier!
Her naturalness and spontainety are incredible!
We used to have such a ball organizing Sahaj courses for her when she would come to Bombay… Many times she would stay at our house … 5-7 Guru Poojas in a day, hundreds of people being initiated into Sahaj right in our home… and the house would be transformed for days afterwards, suffused with Divinity and Knowledge and her inimitable laugh! We would eagerly await her next visit…
She has always been there for us, when things have gone awry, she would have the time to listen to our entire story and sympathize or even chastise when needed… And all amidst giggling laughter and merriment that always seems to follow her around…
On Devi Pooja day and during navaratri everyone take silent cues from her about what exactly needs to be done and where and unassumingly, with utter innocence she will gracefully make sure that everything moves exactly how it should…
Guruji had her do the DSN course with me… and she was the most perfect student… she would even wear track pants and show up for Padma Sadhana! Even being Guruji’s sister, at no point did i feel that she was anything other than a participant… and she wrote out the most flattering compliment to me at the end of the course too … “I didn’t miss Guruji at all while i was on the course with you” … She is one student who can make the teacher feel fantastic!
On our trip to Bali, one afternoon i had a terrible head ache (had got a bit of sun stroke) and i was wondering how i would be able to teach with that pounding going on in my head… She took one look at me and just called me to her room and gave me a loving, cooling, healing head massage which made that entire uneasy, dirty feeling vanish… and i was back on the afternoon session with the TRM there like nothing had happened
She effortlessly brings out best in people around her, and everyone who know her can’t help but love her…
January 11th becomes a very special day for all of us … coz today is her birthday …
With all our Being… We wish you a Blissful, Graceful, Fantastic, Wonderful Happy, Happy Birthday Bhanu Didi!!
Thanks for being there… Thanks for being you!
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa n dinesh
Jan 8
A really quick and utterly delicious soup!
1 Big broccoli cut into medium pieces and a small part of it cut into small pieces for the topping
Olive Oil (i prefer extra virgin, cold pressed)
10-12 (fresh) Basil Leaves
a small packet of fresh cream (about 100 gms or so)
2 pieces of garlic crushed or chopped finely (i used fresh green garlic and chopped up the leafy part as well)
salt and pepper to taste
Fry the smaller pieces of Broccoli in olive oil, until cooked and just slightly browned. Keep aside. Boil the stem of the broccoli with a lot of water to make some soup stock (you chuck the pieces and keep the water, the water is called stock for some reasons unknown to me ).
In a heavy bottom pan, heat 2-3 generous tablespoons of the olive oil and add the garlic and brown it. Add the fresh basil leaves and cook for about a minute. Add all the bigger pieces of broccoli and cook away until tender. Add salt to taste. Lower the heat and stir in the cream. Add soup stock till you get the consistency of the soup that you like and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes more.
Now take it off the fire and whirrrrr it with a blender until smooth.
Add the fried pieces of broccoli to the creamed soup and put it on low heat again for a few minutes. You may add just a hint of pepper for taste.
Serve piping hot with some toasted and buttered whole wheat bread for a really hearty and yummy starter… though i end up with a small salad on the side and make it a complete meal
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Jan 6
A New Practice
The last year i (with a little help from Dinesh) managed to keep a steady stream of articles for our blog… every evening, i would sit and really think about what i wanted to share with all of you for the next day…And then i would write it out, and edit it and edit it many times, until it was just perfect
I absolutely LOVED it, and have throughly enjoyed reading your comments and feedback…
This year, however, between me and dinesh we need to get 3-4 websites up and running (will post about those in a bit ) and Guruji has given us a few more really big targets to meet for YES!+ and so we will simply not have the time to write out the quality stuff that we will be happy with and that you guys have come to expect from our writing …
So instead of belting out articles on the fly and compromising quality over quantity, we have decided that we are going to slow down the pace that articles appear on this blog… I promise that every Monday and Thursday morning you will have a fresh new lovely article to read! And if i have the time, i will post on other days too, but those are bonus posts…
I know many of you wait to read what we write every morning, but please give us some time to finish off most of this other work, then maybe we can go back to 5 articles a week
I will tweet on twitter anytime i write something new, so you simply need to follow me on twitter to get updates about the blog and any other small things that may be happening around me
BTW, the virus has been removed and everyone can now safely and securely read stuff on our blog…
Also as i had mentioned earlier the about BnD page is up and i would love to hear comments on it from you… A photo of the 2 of us together will be included on it very soon
See you on thursday morning…
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa (n dinesh)
Jan 5
Points of View
… or is it Point of Views … well… whatever
Here is a question someone sent me:
Jai Gurudev! bawa n dinesh bhaiya
I feel so close to Guruji when I talk to his pictures or write him a letter but during Utsav on the last day of brahmnaad, when he was walking among us he didn’t even look at me. I know he loves me, and he is there to love me despite of all my nonsense and mistakes i commit… But still bawu. i mean it hurts… and i feel maybe i am not that good that i deserve this…
Although day before he shook my hand!
I will reply with a small incident that happened at Bombay Airport a few years ago…
Guruji was arriving into Bombay from Germany, and so a pretty huge crowd of people (possibly 500-800 of us) had gathered to welcome Him… and the excitement was high in the air as Guruji’s flight was announced as landed… People were sticking their faces to the glass and waiting and watching for Him to emerge out of the airport…
And after about an hour or so of high pitch excitement, a roar of Jai Gurudev!!! went up in the crowd, as one by one we caught sight of His beautiful, dimunitive figure and Guruji elgantly walked out of the terminal building and made His way slowly through all of us, smiling, winking, garlanding people to His waiting car, which all too soon whisked Him away from all of us…
At this point, there were two types of people:The first being people who were absolutely and utterly jubilant, saying “Yayay!!! Wowowow!!!!! I saw Guruji!!!!”
The second ones who were down cast and looked jilted saying “Guruji didn’t look at me!”
It was quite obvious to me (as it should be to you who are reading this) who were the ones regular with their Sadhana, Seva and Satsang and so knew how to count their Blessings and feel grateful for whatever precious few minutes they could spend in the Presence of our Beloved Guruji!
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Jan 2
Fresh Fruit Bake
For the first recipe of 2009, here is a delicious, crunchy, chewy, quick and absolutely easy dessert!
Put your oven to pre heat at 220 deg C.
Wash and cut 2 juicy, ripe apples into medium sized chunks into a big bowl… discard core and seeds. Chop 2 medium sized bananas and about 3/4th of a pineapple into medium sized chunks and put in the same bowl. You may vary the quantity of the fruits depending on which ones you like more
Add to this a fistful of black or green raisins (you may add more if you want it sweeter) and maybe 7-8 dates cut into slivers. You may also add other nuts: pistas, almonds, macadamia, altogether not more than another fistful. For those with a sweet tooth, add 1/4th cup of maple syrup, though we have made this without the maple syrup and it works perfectly well. Add 2 teaspoons of Vanilla essence and a 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Mix everything really well.
Very lightly butter a baking dish and transfer the fruit and nuts mixture into it. If you have some sugar free jam (Dalfours is very nice), spread a thin layer on the fruits. This step is optional.
Now in the same bowl as you had the fruits and nuts, without washing it, add 1/2 a packet of any good cereal, you can choose any brand, i used some fruity flavoured corn and rice flakes and some muesli with dried fruits in it. Add 1/2 a cup of coarsely crushed walnuts. Add 2 heaped tablespoons of wheat flour, 2-3 tablespoons of butter and 3-5 drops of vanilla essence. Mix all this well, with your hands, it should have a kind of a biscuity feel to it when you are done.
Evenly spread the cereal mixture on top of the fruit and nuts (and jam layer)
Bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes or so. The fruits need to get cooked and the top layer will become nice and crunchy, and the whole thing will taste very much like a very fresh and warm granola bar.
Serve hot. Fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream will go very well with it. It’s quite a treat!
Have a great weekend… see you all on Monday…
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
Jan 1
Celebration and Service – Gurudev’s New Year Message
Dinesh will write out what i said in the first few minutes of 2009… here is what Guruji said in the last few minutes of 2008…
Click to watch Guruji’s New Year message for 2009
The last hour of 2008. The time on this planet for us is a gift. Time is a gift to ourself. When we consider time as a gift our whole outlook towards life shifts. Like every year 2008 also has offered you many gifts. With it’s thorns it has made you strong, with its petals it has given u joy.
Any event has the good and not so good. The not so good has made you strong and realize you can handle it. Good part gives you peace and tranquility. This Last hour is good to reflect how you welcomed 08 when it came and how it swept you and swirled you and passed you on to 09.
08 has made many rich people poor. Those who never thought they could come down from their ivory towers had to smell mud. Many who have cheated got exposed. The flaws of capitalism laid bare before our eyes in 2008, like 20 years ago, in 1989 the bubble of communism burst.
Through all this time we learnt one lesson- we should never compromise on human values. Love, compassion, sense of gratefulness and vision for everyone has to dawn in our life.
08 also saw terrorism, loss of life, Sudan, Iraq, Gaza, India had the worst ever terror attacks.
People have asked me — that they are feeling guilty to celebrate. Barely two months after the economy fell, one month after terror attacks — how to celebrate?
Yes, you will feel guilty when your celebration is aimed at gratifying yourself. But if the intention is to uplift everyone in your area, just do it. Don’t delay it. We will never feel guilty if we our celebration takes people out of their gloomy moods. This celebration becomes service and there is no guilt. And when your service becomes celebration, there is no ego and pride in it.
Get this. When celebration becomes service, there is not guilt. And when service becomes celebration, there is no pride.
Let us celebrate with this one intention that let’s bring home the (Spiritual) Knowledge to everyone — that life, events are impermanent. What is permanent is our spirit, our consciousness. It has no birth and death. Life at a higher plane is eternal and so celebrate every moment knowing that every moment is a gift to us.
2009 we have a great responsibility to uplift the planet from the ashes of the disasters of 2008. New hope, new creation has to made.
It is easy to get swept away in a negative mode. It takes courage to move out of it. I am sure all those who are here have this capacity … And all those who are listening (and reading this) also have that capacity!
At 11 pm, make 2 wishes
1- Personal – What you want for yourself in 2009
2- What you want for the world (ie: peace in Sudan and Iraq, stronger economy in the US,…)
And if there is no difference between these two wishes, then you are enlightened !!!
Last year there was a concern that there would not be enough food on the planet to feed everyone. This year I feel there will be plenty of food on the planet for everyone (lot of yield will come through). Later this year economically Europe and US will become strong. Don’t have concerns. It will become better and better … the second half of the year (2009).
JAI GURU DEV!
HAPPY 2009!!
I had tears brimming in my eyes as i read what He said… Guys, we have to get the world to meditate… Bring people to courses… become teachers yourselves and start to teach! Be absolutely regular with your personal Sadhana, Seva and Satsang… and know that in 2009, there will be many more petals and flowers than thorns!
Jai Gurudeva!
a very, very happy, brilliant, wonderful, full of Grace, love, joy and beauty New Year 2009 ahead for all of us!
love
bawa n dinesh
Jan 1
A Very Happy New Year 2009!!!
Happy New Year everyone!!
We had the most amazing, beautiful, lovely New Year’s eve celebrations on the Bangalore Ashram… Vikram sang, I talked, Dinesh lent his superb silent presence!! He says he will write about what i spoke
We sincerely want many more people to experience what we did… So see to it that you are there on the Winter Break 2009!
If you click the about BnD link, you will find that it now works… do check it out and tell us what you think about it
A big big heartfelt oozing with love and gratitude Jai Gurudeva!!! to all of you
bawa n dinesh
